HERD TESTING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16874, 11 February 1929, Page 2

HERD TESTING

POVERTY BAY GROUP

RETURNS FOR LAST PERIOD

According to- returns supplied by the Poverty Bay Group Herd lasting Association, the production per cow of the tested herds is now below that for the opening period in August and September, but since then the number of cows under test has been quadrupled, so that tho total quantity of butterfat of the herds is still considerably greater than at the beginning of testing. The association commenced the season shorty after the beginning ot August with 570 cows in one group, and tho September-October period showed little increase. It was not till October _ that the cows began to come to profit in any number, and the period which commenced that month saw a great increase in the number tested, this being helped to no small degree by the inclusion of additional herds, making the total herds 43. Since then more cows have been coming into profit apparently, lor the numbe%>f fows under test last month was the greatest attained this season. The best mouth for production per cow was September-October, when the average was 33.8311). of butterfat. Since then there ban been a gradual decline with the increase of the number of cows under test, so that these figures do not give a reliable indication of the manner in which production has been maintained during this Wonderful season for growth. According to dairy factory receipts, tho peak month for production was in December this season, and possibly the flush would have been moresustained had there been a greater use of the mowing machine on farms where grass liad been allowed to grow rank. would have been reflected also in the testing returns, which would not have showed such a great decline. The- butterfat average for the past period, which concluded on February 2, was 33.361 b. per cow, 2.361 b. less than the average for December-January. The tests have shown a. gradual rise since October-November, and with the drier weather of the past month an increase of tiro points is noticed over the previous period's test. Tho following table shows the average per cow for each period since the beginning of the season :

A summary of the figures of the past period is given below:

When the figures for the period ending January 7 were given, it was staled that the highest cow produced 70.121 b. of fat, but it is now advised that the highest cow for that period produced 83.521 b.

No. of Milk Fat. Period tows lb. test lb. Aug.-Sept. . ... 370 766 4.5 34.73 Sept.-Oct, . ,.. 396 909 4.2 38.K Oct.-Nov. ... 1366 920 4.1 37.91 Nov.-Dec. ... 1587 896 4.2 37.77 Dec-Jan. ... 1646 835 4.3 35.99 Jan.-Feb. \ ... 1658 741 i 4.5 33.36

No. of Milk Fat. cows lb. test lb. Highest hard ... 24 1G22 4.4 45.5' Lowest herd ... 2~> 535 4.6 24.78 Highest cow 915 7.9 72.28 Lowest- cow 90 5.2 4.68